thorfinn

Congee is an awesome food for when you're ill, or just feel like something hot and tasty and soft and nice. It's easy to make, and extremely easy to digest.

Put about 2 cups of washed rice in a pot.
Add a bit of olive or sesame oil and garlic (dried garlic is fine), fry it up for a few minutes. Skip this step if you don't want any oil.
Pour in about 4 litres of water (substitute some chicken or vegetable stock for some of this if you like). Bring to boil, then turn down to low simmer.
Leave for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add some kind "stuff" for interest, one or more of the below:
- Sliced white fish into it about 5 minutes out
- Chicken cut into small bits and put in about 15 minutes out
- Some random selection of chopped veges, e.g. carrots (10 mins out), broccoli (7 mins out), zucchini (5 mins out)
- Minced pork + cornflour + white pepper, gently hand squeezed into balls (15 mins out)
- sliced (already rehydrated) shitake mushrooms
- Diced Century Egg
- Whatever you may feel like adding that will poach well
Serve with optional condiments:
- good light soy sauce (optionally with sliced chillies in the soy)
- fresh ground black pepper
- fresh spring onions
- dried fried shallots/onions
- fried egg(s)
- Chinese Donut

If you have time, you slow simmer the congee for about 4-5 hours, adding a bit more water, but I find that the above is a perfectly adequate shortcut.

Tastes good the next day, and it's all perfectly microwaveable, with the addition of about half a cup of water into a full bowl.